Just Need A Sign
by Sammy-Dee
Summary: Demyx just needed a sign to know what to do with his life. After a chance encounter with a sexy musician named Zexion, he thinks he may have found that sign. M for drug reference. Yaoi. Zemyx. Au.
1. The Sign

.:: Just Need a Sign ::.

"**The Sign"**

A dirty blond haired boy, who had a slight Mohawk, with longer hair on the back of his head, sat lazily on a seat in the slow moving train to the city, while he tapped the back of his pen on an empty music sheet resting on the table in front of him. His eyes scanned the darkening horizon and his mind was grasping at small tendrils of musical inspiration trying to form around the overbearing thoughts of his most recent fight with his parents.

Deciding whether he should continue aspiring to be a musician, or change career paths to something practical, like his parents wanted him to, was beginning to weigh him down more and more. "I just need a sign; something that will tell me what to do with my life." He muttered to himself before letting his head crash against the cold window of the train as its speed began to pick up.

As he caught his reflection in the window he noticed the growing dark circles around his eyes. The bright blue color his irises once held were turning grayer by the day. He used to remember a time when every picture he had of himself he was smiling; now he couldn't even fake one on the days he was visiting his parents. He knew they loved him, he just wished they would support his goals. But at the same time he understood where they were coming from. It wasn't exactly easy to make it big in the music world. He didn't even have a band, as hard as he tried, he just couldn't get anyone together. Maybe his parents were right. Maybe he should be a nurse. He did like people, so helping others would make him happy. But it wasn't music…

"Hey, local band playing at Nobodies tonight, you should come by, have a listen." A man about the blonde's age walked up to him, handing him a purple sheet of paper which he took tentatively. The voice was beautiful. He had a deep purr in his voice, and the words just slid out of his mouth with little effort while sounding completely thought out at the same time. There was power in the voice, but he also sounded delicate. The blond knew his thoughts were a little contradictive, but as a musician, he picked up on things in voices, and this was the most beautiful voice he ever heard.

And as his eyes met the stranger's one visible dark blue orb, that matched his dark blue hair, falling over his right eye, and fanning out around his head a little, the blond realized that the voice matched its owner completely. He was gorgeous. He wasn't that tall at all. In fact he was a tiny thing, with very thin limbs covered in an overlarge sweatshirt, and loose dark blue, patched up jeans, and big, shit kicking boots. His lips were curved into a somewhat amused, barely visible grin, and he had make up on under his eyes that looked as though it'd been slept on and showered in, without any touch ups, but the man pulled it off well. It was as though he had a deliberate air of uncaring mess about him, and it was damn sexy.

"I'm sorry, what?" The blond asked the sexy blue-haired man.

"Local band, playing at Nobodies. Ever been? Its downtown. On 5th street. It's my band." The blue haired man shrugged. "I'm Zexion, we're trying to get a following, so the more people the merrier. Will we see you?"

"I, um. I'm Demyx." He glanced down at the purple sheet, noting that Nobodies was nowhere near his own apartment, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah, I'll go. I'll go see you." He smiled at the blue haired man, and was quick to correct himself as his eyes went wide. "I mean your band; I'll go see your band! I'll be there to hear you. You're music I mean! I mean your band's music!" The blond stumbled over his wording becoming more and more frantic with each slip of the tongue.

The blue-haired man that introduced himself as Zexion, gave a deep, rich chuckle and shook his head a little. "Great, I'll look forward to seeing you in the audience." And with that he walked up to the next passenger and repeated his line.

Demyx watched him for another moment before shaking his head a little and looking at the purple paper again:

Bleeding Heartless

LIVE! At Kingdom City's very own,

Nobodies

Entrance 10 dollars

21 and older

There was a black and purple image, which Demyx assumed was Zexion, plucking at the strings of a guitar, spread out across the page, and under the band's name there seemed to be a logo that looked a little like a gothic stylized image of a bleeding heart flower. He hadn't even asked what kind of music they played, but he could guess that it was some kind of rock, if he was guessing by the cover of the book, or poster in this case.

A loud male voice came over the intercom, announcing their arrival at downtown Kingdom City and Demyx stood up. Normally he would have stayed on one more stop, but today he was doing something different. Today he was going to have to find Nobodies, just so he could see Zexion again. He folded up the purple paper along with his music sheets and put those along with his pen in his pocket for later. Then he walked down the aisles and hopped off the steps of the train.

His ears were assaulted by the constant drone of loud human voices that often comes when you compress a large number of human beings into a small room. After living in the city for a year and a half he hardly noticed these noises anymore, so he just shoved his way through the crowd of people, earning several "watch it!" and "get out of the way!" comments, but he simply ignored them. To get anywhere in the city, you had to be pushy.

After several minutes he made his way out of the train station and looked in all directions to try to find out where he was. He'd never been to downtown Kingdom city. Not on purpose anyway. He tried his best to stay away from this part of the city since it was known for drug deals, gun violence, and prostitution, but something was compelling him to continue on and find that man again. He had to see Zexion again.

* * *

**For my watchers, and other readers of "Here, at the Other Side" and "Details".**

I'm still writing them both. They're my babies, and I want to spend time on them and do them proper. HATOS needs to be rewritten. I'm in the process of doing that. I have chapter one rewritten of "Other Side" but I'm rewriting the whole story. I've been dealing with college stress lately so I know I haven't updated in maybe two years. I'm sorry. But when I finally do get it written, it's going to be written right.

**AN:**

This is kind of a practice story. Since it's been so long since I've written anything, I just wanted to get a little practice in. I want to try to upload a chapter at least once a month. They'll probably be between 800 and 2,000 words only. They'll be very short chapters just so I can push them out. I have no idea where the story is going.

I know, I know, I know. A lot of you want my other stories to be finished. But you either get them done poorly, or done so they're worth the read. I will get them written, but right now I need to get back in the habit of writing every day.

I used to say I'd never write a story with a band in it, but...I read Fire Crotch and the Friend Zone Virgins, as well as Inertia Creeps, and I guess I changed my mind. But mine is Demyx and Zexion. I don't even know that any other KH characters will be in it. Maybe they will. Suggest someone you want to see and I'll think about it. Suggest anything and I'll think about it. I'm wriiting this as I go, so that means, in theory, you all could be a part of my writing. Maybe. Ultimately is my decision but if I use something you thought up, I'd definitely give credit.

Thanks for reading, sorry it's not Other Side or Details. Those will come though.


	2. Finding the Venue

.:: Just Need a Sign ::.

"**Finding the Venue"**

As Demyx looked down the crowded streets, people continued to jostle him left and right as he stood in his spot. It looked like he was on 15th street, so if these roads were the same as the rest of the city, then he would need to go either forward or backward to find 5th street. Looks like he was going to be walking a bit.

It would really be a waste to walk forward just to find out he should have gone backwards though. If only he had followed Zexion earlier. Surely he would have known which way to go. With a deep sigh, Demyx walked up to the cross walk and waited with everyone else to get the go ahead. He was tempted to ask which direction to go, but being in downtown Kingdom City made him nervous. He'd heard horror stories of the kind of people that lived down here.

If someone was having a bad day and he decided to ask them where 5th street was he might get shot, or raped or something. He definitely wasn't looking forward to having some sort of incident while he was down here, so if he kept to himself he should be fine. Hopefully. As the "Don't Walk" sign changed to "Walk" Demyx stepped forward and started across the street. As usual as soon as they started walking, the cars started honking to make them get out of the way. Honestly, honking doesn't make anyone walk any faster, and everyone can see a bright yellow cab, so it's not like announcing their presence is necessary.

Eventually Demyx reached the next street and saw he was going in the right direction. He kept his eyes to himself, and squeezed his way gently in-between slow paced people to make his way down the sidewalks, all the way to 5th street. Once he arrived there, he wasn't sure if he should turn left or right. Nobodies could be anywhere. As he looked down the streets he noticed that this one seemed to be quite artful as far as the type of stores and attractions they had.

As someone walked around him to get by, he saw a familiar bleeding heart design on their purple hoodie, with "Bleeding Heartless" written above it in bright white dripping letters. He decided following them left would be the best option because where else would they be going? Right? So he gave them plenty of space before he started walking behind them. And he couldn't help but hear some of their conversation.

"Do you think Zexion will show today?" The one wearing the Bleeding Heartless shirt asked.

"I have no confidence in him anymore. I'm only going because you're so obsessed with them. He lost me as a fan the third time he was a no show. I paid money to see them" A girl, wearing a bright green band shirt, with her hair pulled up in a high red ponytail remarked.

"I'm sure he just has shit to deal with Kairi." The other responded again. "Everyone has shit in their life you know.

"I'm just saying, you cancel the show instead of telling everyone you'll be there, and not showing up." The girl called Kairi huffed. "Nobodies does have good drinks though, at least there's that."

Now Demyx was sure that he was being lead in the right direction, though it concerned him that his whole reason for going might not show up. Who the hell doesn't show up to their own concert? He seemed nice enough when he first saw him. And that voice. He wanted to hear that voice. He had no doubt in his mind that Zexion was the singer. It would be a waste of an amazing voice if he wasn't the singer. And on top of that, the image on the poster was his, and he said "My band". That makes him sound like the singer.

Though, Demyx thought, anyone who's in a band would introduce said band as their own band. What else would they call it? But the girls made it seem like the whole concert was ruined by Zexion not showing up. So at the very least Zexion had an important role in the band. Maybe he was the lead guitarist. Demyx could see him jamming on a stage with a guitar, or slamming his sticks down on a drum.

He was suddenly really excited about finding out what this man did, but at the same time he was saddened because he may not even see him. The two girls suddenly turned left again, and walked up to a large man wearing dark sunglasses, despite the sun having already set, and their ids were quickly checked before their hands were stamped. Demyx was thankful there wasn't a line as he walked up to the man, holding his id out. "Good evening." Demyx greeted politely.

A large, bushy eyebrow was raised before the large man tilted his head down slightly to get a better look at Demyx, and then his id. "Do you know where you are?" His deep voice rumbled as he studied Demyx's neat clothes. His jeans were perfectly pressed, his t shirt and hoodie didn't have single tear in them, and his blue converse didn't have a mark on them. He definitely didn't look like the type you'd see hanging out at a downtown bar in the middle of the night.

"Yes, I do." Demyx responded, nervously picking at his t-shirt.

"This ain't the place you go around saying 'good evening'. Do me a favor and just say, 'what's up.' Put my mind at rest, I don't wan'cha hurt." The large man rumbled, a slight look of concern in his eyes.

"Okay, will do." Demyx nodded his agreement, and reached out for his id again.

"I want to hear you say it."

Demyx smiled a little, and struck a careless pose, crossing his arms over his chest, and leaning back slightly, giving the man an approving nod, "What's up?"

The man let out a loud, hearty laugh, and handed Demyx his id back, quickly stamping the back of his hand. "Watch yourself kid. Go on in." And with that Demyx continued into the bar.

There wasn't a lot of lighting. He shivered at the thought of what type of mess the lack of light was covering up. The lightest area was the bar to his right where several people were crowded around, trying to get their drinks from only two bartenders. Directly in front of him there was a small stage with many people crowded around it. There were only a couple instruments on the stage, but it looked as though there was something happening behind the deep purple curtains.

If demyx had to guess, he'd say this used to be a theatre and was probably converted into a bar. He had been in many theatres, and other than the walls that separated the theatre from the entrance, this bar was set up very similarly. He thought it would be a smaller place, but it really wasn't. As long as you weren't near the stage or the bar there was room to breathe. He had a feeling that the place had the potential to get crowded though. Maybe closer to the show, more people would show up.

Demyx made his way over to a booth, deciding he'd sit down while he waited, before heading over to the crowd by the stage. It would definitely be interesting to see someone his age, performing. He'd be watching Zexion do what he wanted to do. Maybe this is what was going to help him decide what he wanted to do with his life. At least he hoped it would.

* * *

**AN: Zexion will be in the next chapter. At least a little bit.**

**Reviews, favs, and alerts are appreciated.**


	3. Getting Ready

.:: Just Need a Sign ::.

"**Getting Ready"**

Zexion busted through the doors of the back stage room, announcing proudly "I handed out the flyers!" Walking over to the gray couch, covered in ominous stains, he shoved his band mate's feet off the small table, covered in various snacks and drug paraphernalia before sitting down next to the pink haired man, causing a cloud of dust to jump off the couch as he crashed down.

The pink haired man coughed a little as he waved his hand around in an attempt to shoo the dust away, then took a puff of his cigarette. "Bravo Zex, I'm proud of you." He said sarcastically. "It's more impressive that you showed up isn't it?"

"Oh, fuck off Marluxia." Zexion scowled before sliding off the couch and kneeling next to the table, carefully opening up a bag with a white powdery substance in it. "If you don't remember, I'm the one that got this band together. I'm the one that people worship." He continued, daring one of the other band members to cross him as they watched on.

The red head, with bright green eyes, and dark, triangular, tattoos on each of his cheeks raised his hands innocently, "I didn't say anything Zex. I just want to play."

"You're kind of overreacting." A blond, with bright blue eyes, leaning against the red head's side commented softly.

"Hey, hey, let's just all chill, okay, just chillax, take a couple hits, and get ready to rock the fucking crowd, yo." A second red head commented, leaning against the wall with a joint in his hand, watching over the whole scene. "We're all here, let's not fight."

"Whatever, man." Zexion grumbled before sliding his arm across the table, shoving plates and glasses to the floor before pouring the powder out on it, and taking a credit card out. "Not like I didn't want to be here you know." He continued softy, creating three even lines and taking out a dollar bill. "I'm ready though, I'm so ready…Well, I'll be ready in a minute." He grinned, causing the rest of the band to laugh along with him as he bent down with his rolled up dollar bill.

ooo

"Can I get you something from the bar?" A cheerful waitress with brown hair strolled up to Demyx, the largest smiled he'd ever seen plastered over her face.

"Just a beer." He responded, then reached out and grabbed her arm before she could leave. "Is the band performing tonight? I mean, is Zexion going to be here?" He asked hesitantly.

"Oh yeah, he got here a couple minutes ago. They'll be performing don't worry." She continued to smile at him, waiting to see if he needed anything else.

Since she didn't seem troubled in answering his questions, Demyx decided to ask "What kind of music is it? I've never seen them before." He said shyly, a little embarrassed at being by himself to see a band he didn't even know, in a bar he'd never been to.

"Um…You know, that's a good question. I guess its alternative. It's hard to describe really. They're very different." She said thoughtfully, the fake smile finally leaving her face as she sat down across from him, thinking over her answer. "It's really dark. And, they use a lot of instruments. Zexion once told me his dream would be to play on stage with an orchestra. We obviously can't fit that in here, but he does use a full orchestra and choir in some of his songs on the CDs. They always have guitars, drums, piano, violin, cello, and upright bass on stage with them though, just to give you an idea of where their music goes."

"That's seems kind of complex for some local band." Demyx thought out loud, thinking about his own trouble in trying to put a band together.

"Zexion's not really your average person. He's been trained in classical music since he was ten maybe, and he studied it in college as well. His whole life revolves around music really. So, yeah, it's a little different than you'd be used to hearing in a bar, but, how else will they get heard?"

"How do you know so much about him?" Demyx asked.

"My brother Marluxia is in the band. He plays the violin. He's also Zexion's best friend. So I see him a lot. Lucky I'm waitressing tonight, eh?" She giggled softly as she stood up, putting a hand on Demyx's shoulder.

Demyx laughed with her, a little uncomfortable having her hand on him, but not doing anything to make her move it. "Yes, I'm very grateful. I'd like to be able to talk to him. He seems….interesting."

"So you've met him, sort of?"

"You could say that. He handed me a poster, and told me his name. I'd like to talk to him about his music though. I'm a music student."

"Oh really?" she practically squealed, "Stick around after the show, sometimes he stays around and gets a drink or two. I can sneak you to the VIP area to talk to him. Or even bring him down here."

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd love to. You seem like a nice guy. I think Zexion could use a nice guy in his life." Demyx gave her a little bit of a confused look and she took her hand off his shoulder, shaking her head slightly and waving her hand nonchalantly. "Never mind, what's your name?"

"My name is Demyx, and yours?"

"Oh!" She flipped her collar up, and pointed to her name tag "I'm Selphie. I hope I see you around here more Demyx. I'll be right back with your beer."

Demyx nodded as she walked away. "I hope I to…I'll just have to see how this goes."

ooo

"Do you remember the lyrics?" The green eyed red-head asked as the played with the out of control hair of his blond companion, who was playing with the dangling silver necklace around the red head's neck.

"Of course I do, Axel." Zexion said, throwing himself back onto the couch. "Let's fucking do this guys! I'm ready." He grinned at each of his band members. He knew he hadn't been the best band mate lately, but he was going to make it up to them tonight. With cocaine flowing through his system, he knew he could do this. He'd make everyone fall in love with him again. Making people fall for him _was_ indeed his only skill; that and music. "Now what order are we going in again?"

The band let out a communal sigh of "Zexion!" as the blue haired man began to laugh manically.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Let's go out there." The blue haired man stood up, pulling Marluxia with him and dragging him out of the room, down the hall towards the stage area, to watch the manager of the club introduce them.

"And without further ado, Nobodies presents our very own, Bleeding Heartless!" And with that Zexion heard the crowd cheer for him. They cheered for him and his band mates. They cheered to hear his music. They cheered just as he would cheer for his own favorite bands, and his heart soared. He could really feel the coke in his system now as the manager handed the microphone off to him.

Zexion quickly ran out onto the stage, devil horns raised in one hand, the other hand holding the microphone to his mouth, "Are you guys ready for tonight?! We have some brand new songs for you, and a lot of old favorites!" An uncontrollable smile spread across his face as he looked out to the audience. They were a humble audience. It was no massive crowd, but they were loud, energetic, and they were there for Bleeding Heartless. It was almost better than being high. Almost.

* * *

**AN: The band members will be officially introduced with names in the next couple of chapters. For now you just have hints.**


	4. The Gig

.:: Just Need a Sign ::.

"**The Gig"**

Zexion seemed confident when Demyx first met him, but he still had that softness to him while he was on the train. It may have been something about his messed up makeup and thin body with protruding bones that made Demyx see that delicateness in him. Now it was like he was a completely different person. Somewhere along the way he had changed his clothes, his hair, and even his make-up. He was still wearing his patched up jeans, but in place of his over large sweatshirt he was wearing a wife beater with the band logo in purple, and two different arm warmers. One was black and went to his elbow on his right arm. It had several straps and chains hanging down, and wrapped tight around it. The other one was purple and gathered around his left wrist.

And his hair was pulled back into a messy, short ponytail, with only a few strands falling forward in front of his eye. But because most of it was pulled back, Demyx was now able to see that Zexion's right eyebrow had two piercings in it, and his right ear had several piercings going up it. Demyx couldn't even name what all of them were, he just saw how shiny his ear was whenever the light hit it.

On top of that, he seemed excited and energetic, which Demyx assumed was natural, since it was his concert. But it was much different than the laid back demeanor he seemed to have on the train. It was kind of sexy. He couldn't help but love his stage presence, and he immediately knew why so many people liked him.

As the blue haired man walked around the stage, getting the people riled up, Demyx watched every detail of him. He found himself getting up and moving closer, shoving his way through the crowd. There was something that just oozed sex appeal out of Zexion, from the way he threw his arm in the air while emphasizing his words, to the way his ass moved in those jeans, to how his smile grew as he heard the crowd responding. It was thrilling, and contagious to watch him. More than anything, Demyx wanted to be Zexion right now.

Zexion suddenly went towards the side of the stage, and came back to the microphone stand, now holding a violin in one hand and a bow in the other. "I think we've made y'all wait long enough. How about we start with an oldie?" A grin slowly crept onto Zexion's face as he raised the violin to his shoulder, and placed the bow on the strings, scratching out the first note, and the crowd went wild with approval.

It was obvious to Demyx that they had a lot of repeat fans here tonight, and they knew the song well. He really wanted to know what it felt like to be in Zexion's shit kickers right now. He was surprised at the roughness of the violin. Since Selphie had said he was trained in classical music, he expected it to be more, well, classical. But it had a purposeful roughness to it, and Demyx kind of liked it. It was like it was a big 'fuck you' to all the classical training that was probably shoved down his throat as a child. And it sounded good.

However, it didn't take long for the classical sound to come through as the song took an about face and Zexion stepped up to the microphone. The violin suddenly took a step back, as the drums, guitar, cello, and other instruments joined. Demyx's mind was suddenly assaulted with an intense anger, caused by the tempo, and dynamics of the music, and then Zexion opened his mouth. And his voice was as beautiful as he thought it would be.

"How could you do it?

How could you break one, so small?

He just took it all

Everything you threw

He just took it all

"And it makes me wonder

Makes me wonder

What kind of man are you

"The memories still haunt him

From so long ago

He's consumed by your sins

As if they were his own

"And it makes me wonder

Makes me wonder

What kind of man is he?

"How could you do this to me?

I trusted you, and now I wonder

I wonder if my heart even beats

Or am I walking piece of meat

And I wonder

If these memories will ever fade

The memories you left with me

So long ago

"And it makes me wonder

Makes me wonder

What kind of man am I?

When I still let you win

With the memories of your sin"

And he sang, and sang. There was so much passion in Zexion's voice, song after song, it was as though he was spilling his life out to all the audience. You could hear every emotion in every word he sang, in every note of every instrument, in the words themselves; you knew what he felt when he wrote it. And if he didn't write it he was a damn good actor in Demyx's opinion. He hung onto every lyric and every note; he fell into the music and became a part of it.

The violin, though not his favorite instrument, captivated him as he listened to Bleeding Heartless. Zexion's violin was particularly catching to him. He could hear Marluxia playing as well, he watched his solo, he watched him play alongside Zexion, but it was Zexion that made his hair stand up, goosebumps rise, and sent shivers down his spine.

Demyx was completely enamored for the entire concert. Someone could have stepped in front of him, and slapped him across his face, and he wouldn't even notice. Hell, a tornado could go through the building, and as long as the band could keep playing, Demyx wouldn't have noticed. He was lost to the magic that is music.

* * *

**_Song (c) me_**

**_I don't like when people steal songs and say their characters wrote them, though, fanifiction is all about stealing characters..._**

**_The original song was replaced 3-18-13, still not very good, but I feel it's improved._**


	5. The Official Meeting

.:: Just Need a Sign ::.

**"The Official Meeting"**

After the concert was over and Demyx had peeled himself away from the stage, he made his way back towards the booth he had previously been sitting in. He was still in a state of mesmerized bliss and couldn't stop thinking about Zexion. His mind kept replaying how Zexion had looked as he sang to the crowd. He made it seem like it was a high, to be on that stage, singing to a crowd. There were less than five hundred people there, but he made it seem like he was singing to thousands.

He was so energized, as he ran all across the stage using the whole thing. He jumped across his piano before playing it, jumped on top of it to sing and entice the crowd. He interacted with each of his band mates. It looked like it was a total rush for him, and Demyx wanted that. He was lost in thoughts of officially meeting the blue haired man when a happy brunette girl bounced up to him with another beer, even though he hadn't finished his last.

"Hey, Demyx! Did you enjoy the show? I noticed you were up close and personal with the stage!" She sang as she handed the beer off to him.

Demyx graciously accepted the beer, but didn't drink from it as he responded to her, "He's amazing." He was surprised at the awe his voice still held, but suddenly realized his mistake and corrected himself, "They're amazing, Bleeding Heartless. They're different, like you said. It's not something I've heard before."

"Right? And I'm lucky enough to be able to say my brother is in that band, and best friends with the lead singer." She squealed in excitement, clearly still pumped up from the show. "Anyway, they're all up in the VIP room. Do you want to go meet Zexion?"

"Yes, yes please. I'd be so grateful to you."

"You're such a proper boy, I love it." She made a quick move to wrap her arm around his, pulling him out of the booth. "Come on let's go!" She cheered, dragging him between the scattered dancers over to a set of doors Demyx hadn't even noticed before.

"I didn't even know there was an upstairs." Demyx commented, doing his best to keep up with her.

"Of course you didn't, you were too distracted by the music." Selphie giggled happily, opening the door and waving to the security guard in front of it before leading Demyx to the stairs.

Demyx had thought the lower level was dark, but it was nothing compared to the VIP, upstairs area. There were booths against every wall, and areas to dance in between them. Curtains hung around each booth, giving an extra sense of privacy, though it was hardly needed because other than the members of the band, scattered around three booths, the place was completely empty. The lights were encased in some sort of purple, red, and blue glass covers that dulled them to such a degree that it hardly seemed there was any light at all. It was difficult for Demyx's eyes to adjust to the light, but eventually he was able to make out each of the band members.

"Hey, Zexion!" Selphie skipped up to the blue hair man, who was sitting on the back of one of the booths, with his feet on the table and a cigarette in his hand. "This is the guy I mentioned, Demyx."

Zexion's blue eyes quickly turned towards Selphie's voice and landed on Demyx. "Hey! I know you. You were on the train. You actually came. Hey, hey, you guys, this is Demyx, the guy on the train."

"Hello." Demyx spoke softly as he gave a small wave.

Then a familiar looking blond spoke up as he studied Demyx, "You never said anything about a guy on a train Zex."

"The _point_ Roxas, is that this is him." Zexion responded as he tossed his cigarette on the floor and walked over to Demyx. "I didn't think you'd come. I thought you were fucking with me or something." Demyx had to suppress a shiver as Zexion stood on his tip toes and wrapped his arm around Demyx's shoulders, pulling him close. He was so close to him that the wannabe musician could feel the singer's breath against his cheek as he spoke to him. He could care less for the smell of cigarettes it carried, but just to have him that close again was a dream.

"I said I'd come." Demyx smiled, but didn't dare turn his head towards the blue haired man. He was sure if he faced him their lips would end up touching. If it were any other stranger, Demyx felt as though being in such close proximity with them would make him uncomfortable. But there was just something about Zexion that made him comfortable.

"People lie." Zexion tilted his head, and continued to stare at the blond, with his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't lie"

"All people lie."

"That's a terrible way to view the world." Demyx frowned, leaning back slightly so he could look at Zexion.

"It is what it is. Have you met my band?" Zexion asked, not missing a step.

"This is the first time I've ever seen you, of course I haven't met anyone. "

"Well come on, come on, what are you standing around for? Have a seat with me, I'll make joyous introductions! And we'll all share stories of our greatest accomplishments, and be merry!" Zexion pulled Demyx into the booth with him as he spoke in an uncharacteristically happy tone, to almost anyone that knew him. "Have a drink." The singer grabbed some awful smelling bottle of liquor and poured a shot for Demyx, pushing it over to him.

"I don't drink." Demyx insisted.

"Of course you do, don't be ridicul-arse." Zexion pushed the shot glass closer to him again then pointed a finger towards the blond sitting across from them who had spoken earlier. "This is my bass player Roxas, and that taller version of him, sitting by the none too intelligent redhead is his brother Cloud. Cloud's not in the band, he's just visiting. Now, mister possessive, sitting next to Roxas is Axel. He's a bit more intelligent than the other redhead, whose name is Reno."

"Hey! Are you poking fun at me, ass?" The man named Reno scowled as he spun around, taking his attention off of Cloud to glare at Zexion.

"He's just trying to look cool to the new guy." Axel stated. "He knows I'm not stupid."

"Most days." Roxas gave a short laugh as Reno spoke up again.

"Hey, new guy! I'm Reno." The red head waved. "This is my best bud Cloud, we're totally dating."

"I know." Demyx smiled, watching the interaction of the band.

"We are not." The blond named Cloud glared at the redhead before smacking him in the head, hard enough to make his goggles pop off his head and land somewhere on the floor.

"Oww!" Reno made an attempt to stop his goggles, to little effect, and then looked at Demyx. "You knew we're dating?"

"No, I knew your names, Zexion just told me."

"That's right because we're not dating." Cloud shoved the redhead before stalking off and Demyx laughed, turning his attention towards Zexion again, just in time to see him down a shot of the disgusting smelling alcohol.

"Well, yeah, anyway. Axel's my lead guitar, and Reno's my other guitar. Then we have Marluxia, he's-"

"Violin." Demyx finished for Zexion.

"Yes. Yes he is." Zexion smiled at Demyx and paused for a moment, just to stare at him. "And, my brothers are also in the band. Riku, plays cello, and viola. Kadaj plays cello and upright bass. Yazoo plays cello, viola, and violin. And Loz is my drummer. Mother was thrilled about that." Zexion finished with a grin before downing another shot.

Demyx turned away from Zexion to look at the men he called his brothers. To be honest, Demyx couldn't see any similarities between them. Sure, Zexion's hair was probably dyed, so he couldn't be sure what it's natural color was. Therefore the fact that the four brothers had white blonde hair was relatively moot. But on top of that, all four men were near and above six feet tall, their face shape was entirely different than Zexion's, they all shared a light blue to aqua eye color while Zexion had dark blue, and in general, nothing about them looked like Zexion. "Um….they don't look anything like you." Demyx whispered so he didn't disrupt the brothers who were talking to the redheads and Roxas.

"I'm adopted." Zexion said simply.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Demyx responded, feeling horrible that he may have just brought up some horrible trauma from the past.

"Don't sweat it, Demyx. Can I call you Demyx?" Zexion questioned as he slid closer to Demyx and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"It is my name…"Demyx smiled, trying to lean away slightly, smelling the alcohol on Zexion's breath, feeling like the singer might be getting past the line of tipsy, and quickly heading towards completely smashed.

"I'm gonna call you Demyx."

"You do that Zexion." The smile on Demyx's face grew and he couldn't help but think even in his state of inebriation, Zexion was incredibly sexy, with a nice side of cute.

* * *

AN: This one was getting long and I'm purposefully keeping these chapters small. So I had to cut it off. We'll get more of Zexion and Demyx in the next chapter. I had intended to finish the meeting in one chapter, but apparently its more words than I thought it would be.

The title of the next chapter "More of more and more of less".


	6. More of More and More of Less

.:: Just Need A Sign ::.

"**More of More and More of Less"**

"I really enjoyed the concert. You have to tell me what it feels like to be up there." Demyx remarked as he took a small sip of the beer Selphie had brought to him downstairs, watching Zexion pour yet another shot.

"I don't _have_ to tell you anything." Zexion cockily replied, as he set the bottle back down. "Do you want to be a singer or something?"

"I'm a musician. I don't really sing. But I write music, and I'm going to school for music, and more than anything I want to be a famous musician, performing in front of crowds every day. But, my parents want me to change career paths. Heh, it's going to sound a little weird, but, I came here hoping to find an answer, an answer to what I should do." Demyx admitted quietly, turning away from Zexion as a blush crept up on his face.

"Don't listen to the 'rents Demyx. Look at it this way, they're life is more than halfway over, your life is just beginning. So who has to live with the choices you make? You do. If you do what they want, they may be happy, but what about you? It's not weird." Zexion raised his glass up to Demyx before sipping it down. "Follow your heart man. Something compelled you to come here, and you did exactly what you should have done."

"I'd hate to admit it, but Zexion's right." Roxas piped in. "When it comes to your own life, you parents may think they have your best interest in mind, but, truth is, you know yourself better than anyone else. What's going to make you happy Demyx?"

"Is your desire to be a famous musician worth the struggle you'll have to face to become one, or would you rather do as your parents say, and go a safe route?" Zexion finished for Roxas. "No matter what, the choice is yours. You're an adult. The grownups can't make your decisions for you anymore."

"Is it worth it?" Demyx asked them softly, running his finger around his beer idly. Zexion remained silent for a moment, and Roxas averted his eyes in favor of joining the argument Axel and his brother were currently entangled in. So Demyx repeated himself, "Is it worth the struggle?"

"I'm still struggling Demyx, and I can honestly say, every day is worth it for that small moment on stage when you realize everyone in that audience is there for you. And there is nothing greater than taking a moment, and having the audience sing your lyrics, while you just listen. They memorized your words and you know you're getting to them. They're listening to you and you're making a difference to them, and there's nothing better than that. It's worth everything. But you can't make your decision on my experience." Zexion finally explained, his voice taking on a serious tone as he looked the blond musician in his bright blue eyes.

"But I want that. That's exactly what I want. I want that feeling. I don't think I could ever truly be happy if I never got to that point. I have to become a successful musician. I have to. I don't know that I can breathe if I don't get that."

"Then you're a musician, Demyx. I think your choice was made long before you stepped in these doors. You just needed something to remind you what you were fighting for. And apparently that something was Bleeding Heartless."

"Your music is so different; it made me feel like if I could come up with something new and different, that I might be able to catch the ears of someone. Selphie told me you use orchestras and choirs in your music. I didn't get to see that tonight, but, I can sort of guess where you'd fit it in. But, I mean, how do you even do that?" Demyx questioned his new hero, turning in the booth to face him.

Zexion chuckled and turned to face Demyx as well. "Roxas, and Riku are in a college band. I can pay them to play my music for me and it's the same with the choir. It's only one day. I get them all in a studio I have to pay for, and we record the music to the best of our ability. So my CDs will have the orchestra and choir in them, but the only way I could bring that to a concert in a venue this small is to play the CD in the background, and, I just don't feel the need. Our sound is great, just with the strings, and percussion."

Demyx listened intently to each word Zexion spoke, nodding along with him. "And, I noticed you play violin and piano, do you play anything else? You obviously write for a lot of instruments, so you must play more than one?"

"You can write for an instrument and not know exactly how to play it. You just need to know the basics really. I'm a big fan of string instruments though. When my parents adopted me they thought 'Oh, he's a troubled kid, let's get him into music'. So they brought me to a musical instrument store, and they gave me a choice of several different instruments. My dad wanted me to pick the guitar, and my mom wanted me to pick piano. But I saw the violin and I thought 'how perfect, it comes with its very own saw to hack and slice at necks while you whack and beat at other body parts." Zexion laughed as he saw the horrified look on Demyx's face. "I was a troubled child. But once they got me to stop hitting people with my bow, and violin, and actually got me to hold it properly, I fell in love. But, it wasn't enough after a while. I wanted to learn more. Violin, viola, cello, they're all related. Being a musician I'm sure you know it's relatively easy to learn instruments that are in the same family. But that wasn't enough for me either, I wanted to expand, so I learned guitar, and piano, harp…I'm a real fan of strings. But what about you Demyx, what do you play?"

The way this man's voice just oozed from his mouth in the most unintentional sultry and seductive manner had Demyx falling over himself. He could listen to this man talk for hours. He could talk about the significance of a single grain of dirt, and Demyx would find it to be the most interesting thing he'd ever listened to, he was sure. "Oh, well, I play guitar, drums, piano, but my real passion is for the sitar. I know it's not a common instrument, but, my dad travels a lot for business and he brought one home for me, and ever since then I've been obsessed with music. I guess he probably regrets that now…"

"Whoa, whoa, wait. You know the sitar? That's the coolest thing I've heard in a long time. Seriously, a sitar?"

"Yeah." Demyx smiled at his companion. "It's, different. Kind of like your music. It's not something you hear often."

"Yeah, you could definitely do something different with that Demyx. Hey, I want to hear you play!" Zexion spoke suddenly, as though the most brilliant idea had just come to mind.

"I…I don't really do the same music as you. I don't know that you'd like it. My stuff, it seems a like it's not really as complicated as yours. In fact, nothing about me is as complicated as you. I'm so plain."

"Exactly!" Zexion exclaimed as he slapped the table, causing the shot glasses and liquor bottles to tremble. "See DemDem, I like things complicated. I like things with a little more. Everything about me is extreme. To me, the more the better. But you, you appreciate the subtlety and the beautiful quality of less. So, we would work great together!" The singer suddenly jumped up as he moved around in the booth to get into a kneeling position.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Don't you see? I'm more, and you're less, to the extreme. You need a little more of more, and I need a little more of less. Can't you see it Demyx? We'd be perfect together, we would make the greatest pair, you and I. I just have to hear you music and see if my hypothesis is right. What do you say?" The blue haired man threw his hands onto each of Demyx's shoulders, and stared him in the eyes.

Demyx, feeling a little intimidated, slowly nodded in agreement, not sure what else he could do. Part of him was excited to share his music with Zexion, but the other part of him wanted to know why a complete stranger was so interested in him. "O-Okay."

"Great!" Zexion let go of Demyx and twisted in the booth again, sitting properly as he pulled out a scrap piece of poster and grabbed a pen off the table, writing something down on it. "Here, come see me tomorrow." The singer handed the poster to Demyx, and Demyx noticed it was an address, that was thankfully in a nice suburban neighborhood and not downtown Kingdom City. "Come by around ten, no twelve….wait, you said you have school didn't you?"

"Yea-"

"Come around one….you know what make it three." Zexion decided.

"Well by then school is over for me." Demyx informed him, realized almost immediately after that he probably shouldn't have.

"Just come by after school then, that'll work. Now since I have you coming so early-"

"Three o' clock isn't really early, Zexion."

"None the less, I will most likely be sleeping, just have someone wake me up. See, my party doesn't end here Demyx. I keep going 'til the sun comes up, so three is early to me."

Demyx laughed, and shook his head at the singer. "I guess that's the rock and roll life."

"Damn straight." Zexion agreed before quickly continuing. "Bring over whatever instruments you want to share with me, especially the sitar, and any music you've written. You've written music right?"

"Yes, not lyrics, but I've written music."

"That's fine, that's fine. Bring what you have, I promise I won't steal it." Zexion grinned one his mischievous grins at Demyx then went to continue, but was interrupted by said blond.

"That thought didn't even cross my mind that you would steal it, but now I'm a little worried." Demyx half joked, but was partially serious now that Zexion brought it up. But Zexion wasn't the type to steal music, right? Not with all the original talent he had. Right?

"Don't worry; I have no reason to steal it. So come by around four?"

"I thought we said three?"

"Four is better."

"Okay, I'll come by at four, tomorrow." And with that, Demyx had the promise of seeing Zexion again.


	7. He's the Villain

.:: Just Need a Sign ::.

**"He's the Villain"**

"Hey Sora." Demyx greeted his friend as he entered his Literature lesson the next day. He took his seat next to the brunette, and pulled out his notebook before looking at him. Thoughts of last night immediately consumed his mind as he saw Sora's eyes and realization hit him.

"Hi-" Sora began, beaming at his friend, but was interrupted before he could finish.

"You said your cousin's name is Roxas didn't you?" Demyx asked.

"Yeah, he's..." the brunette nodded slightly to him, then trailed off.

The blond briefly wondered what Sora was thinking about, but the thoughts quickly left him because he had other pressing matters to attend to. "Is he in a band?"

"Bleeding Heartless. He's been in that band for a few years now. Why?" Sora threw his arm across his book, and laid his head on his hand, facing Demyx. Sora was about the same height as Zexion. He was horribly short for his age, and no matter what he did, his eyes were always huge, shinning, and happy. It was one of the qualities Demyx adored about his friend. He always knew if he had a bad day he could call Sora and everything would feel better.

"I went to a show last night, for them. The lead singer, Zexion, he invited me to his house today." The blond smiled, his fingers excitedly tapping away at his desk. "He wants me to play my music for him. I think he might want me in the band. And even if he doesn't, he could help me out."

"Don't do it." Sora demanded, his gaze bearing down on Demyx. "They're bad news Demyx, don't go."

"What do you mean? Your cousin's in the band, it can't be that bad? I'm surprised I didn't see you there." Demyx's face contorted in confusion as he thought about that. Why wouldn't Sora go see his cousin's band play? "Why weren't you there? It's great music."

"I'm not saying Zexion, and the rest of the band aren't great writers and musicians, but the day Roxas joined that band everything changed."

"I don't understand."

"I'll tell you after class, buy me lunch I'm broke."

Demyx laughed at that, and shoved his friend lightly. "I always buy you lunch Sora, it's a deal."

So Demyx sat through what felt was the longest literature class of his life. He couldn't stop thinking about what Sora had said, and he was distracted for the entire hour and fifty minutes. Eventually they found themselves at a small café where everyone knew everyone. It was one of their favorite places to visit. And Demyx immediately got to the point when their sandwiches and drinks came. "So, tell me what happened, give me the details."

"Well, Roxas met Axel his first year at Kingdom Community College. And one of Axel's friends is Zexion, so eventually Roxas met him as well. They got to talking about music, and well," Sora took a sip of his smoothie and frowned as he thought about the story. Demyx could see the wheels turning in his spiky haired friend's head, but he wasn't going to relieve him of his task. He wanted to know. "Zexion basically invited Roxas over, just like he did for you. And he liked him and stuff. So Roxas got in the band. And everything was perfectly fine for a while." The brunette paused again. When he didn't make an attempt to continue, Demyx spoke up.

"But?" Demyx encouraged, his sandwich still untouched on his plate.

"After a while, Roxas started getting moody. Like, more than usual. He is a moody person. And, he stopped hanging out with me. We used to be best friends, but, it's like he was too good for me all of the sudden. And when I asked him about it, he brought me to a show. And I met Riku, Zexion's brother." The brunette's voice took on a dark edge as he spoke about Riku, and Demyx could tell there was a history there.

"So, I, uh…well, Riku and I kind of hit it off. And I used to hang out with them all the time. I thought they were the greatest, except when they drank, and smoked. And they didn't just smoke cigarettes. I was with them the first time I smoked pot. It seemed harmless as long as I kept it as a social thing. So, whenever I was with them, I ended up smoking and drinking. But, then I noticed that Roxas would disappear with Axel, Zexion and Marluxia, and when they came back, they were acting so much worse than usual. It was like, I don't know. I thought they just drank a lot, or something.

"They weren't drinking Demyx. No more than usual, anyway. I was naïve, or maybe I just didn't want to know. Maybe I didn't want to see what they were doing. I went to Zexion's house one weekend. I was going to surprise them. Specifically, I was going to surprise Riku. It was after finals week, so I hadn't seen him in forever. His mom let me in and I went up to his room…And he was with some girl. In bed. Naked. And tangled up." At this point the brunette chose to take a moment for himself, and Demyx let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "You have to understand, I loved Riku. My heart broke when I saw that. But I couldn't leave. I walked over to him and I smacked the shit out of him to wake him up. That's when I saw it. There was powder all over his nightstand. It was on his nose, on the girl's nose, on their bodies. It was drugs, Demyx, serious ones. And Zexion's the worst of them. He's the initiator. No one did them before they met Zexion."

"What happened to you and Riku?" Demyx asked quietly, his questions about Roxas forgotten for the moment, after hearing the trauma Sora must have been through.

"He sent the girl away, and we fought. I left and a couple days later he came crawling back to my door, telling me he didn't mean it, it was the drugs, they did that to him. He said he loved me and he wanted to take it back because I was the only one that ever meant anything to him." The brunette chugged down the last of his smoothie, and looked up at Demyx again. "Honestly, I could have forgiven him for the cheating. At first I didn't think I could, but I just, love him so much. I could forgive the cheating, only if he gave up the drugs, and the band. He couldn't do that. He couldn't get away from that, from Zexion, so what would stop him from cheating again? I left him; I stopped hanging out with them. I begged Roxas to leave them, and to quit doing drugs. He denied it all and our relationship hasn't been the same since. I haven't even seen a concert since then. Don't get involved with them Demyx. I don't want to lose you too."

"You won't lose me Sora. You know I have better self control than that. Even though they drink and do drugs and stuff, it doesn't mean I will. I'm better than that. Zexion tried to give me a shot of something last night and I didn't drink it." Demyx frowned, thinking about Sora's warning before his thoughts went back to what Riku had done. "I'm sorry Sora, about what they did to you. You always come first to me, okay?"

"You have no idea what kind of power Zexion has."

"You make him seem like some villain."

"He is Demyx! He is. He's a monster that hides in a self conscious shell until you get him on stage, or drugged up. He brings everyone down with him and he'll do it to you too." The brunette suddenly came around the table and wrapped his arms around Demyx. "Please don't go Demyx. Please don't let him take you too."

Demyx readily hugged his friend tightly. "Sora, he won't take me. I'm just going to share some music with him. It'll be okay."

"I feel like I'm losing you." Sora cried into Demyx's shoulder.


	8. Hall of Portraits

.:: Just Need A Sign ::.

"**Hall of Portraits"**

After talking to Sora, Demyx went to his apartment to grab his guitar, sitar, and a few of his finished pieces of music. Then he took his car, which he rarely drove since he lived in the city, and made his way to the address Zexion had given him. It was a large house. It was like a mini mansion, if Demyx had to call it anything. It had a very neoclassic look to it, with an even number of columns running across the porch, from the first floor to the second. There was an even number of windows on each side of the large, blue, double front door, right in the center, and each window had a pair of blue shutters hanging around it. The actual house itself was white with a charcoal gray color on the shingles. It was beautiful, but it wasn't what Demyx was expecting.

He didn't know what he had expected. He knew it was a good neighborhood, so it would be a nice house. But for some reason he had just expected something less….normal. As he walked down the stone pathway to the front door, glancing at the flowers and bushes lining the path and the house, Demyx struggled to carry his instruments, and folders. He walked up the three steps of the porch, made his way between two large white columns, then up to the door, setting his guitar down so he could grab the door knocker and knock it twice.

He waited for what seemed like hours, though it was only a few minutes, looking from side to side, noticing that it was impossible to see your neighbor from each of these houses. And where you would expect to see spider webs, or leaves, or flower petals all over the porch, Zexion's was absolutely spotless. Deciding he should try knocking again, Demyx reached out for the knocker, just as the door swung open revealing a short, plump, cheery looking woman with white blond hair, and bright green eyes. She was wearing an apron over some kind of jeans and a dressy top. "I'm sorry dear! I was wrist deep in raw meat and I certainly can't expect the boys to answer the door." She grumbled to Demyx and looked him up and down, taking in his neat appearance, and overfilled arms.

"Uh, hi. That's alright; I was just admiring your lovely porch. Is Zexion home? I'm a friend of his. He asked me to come over." Demyx explained, smiling at the woman as he went to pick his guitar up again.

"Oh, don't bother yourself with that." The woman smacked at Demyx's hand. "Riku!" She yelled, causing Demyx to flinch a little. "What's your name?"

"Oh! I'm Demyx, sorry. That was rude of me.

"Its fine, I just want to have the right name when I tell Zexion who's here to visit him. I think he's still sleeping, that bum. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Um, no. I don't think so." As Demyx answered her, he saw a disheveled looking Riku descend the stairs behind the woman, two at a time. When Demyx examined the inside of the house a little more, he realized the hallway behind the woman was created by the sides of two sets of stair cases, both leading up to the upper level of the house. Everything had rich colorings. There wasn't too much dark, or too much white. In fact, all the whites were creams, and all the darks were browns, reds and oranges. It had a very homey feeling to it, and increased Demyx's shock tenfold. Nothing seemed like Zexion. He had to assume this woman was the mother, and this was her house.

"Riku dear, help Demyx with his cases. He's come to have dinner with us and see Zexion. While you're at it, wake Zexion up." The woman replied and Demyx held up a hand in protest.

"Uh, oh, I uh, I said I wasn't staying for dinner." Demyx corrected her.

"Nonsense, you're too skinny. Just like my Zexion. There's more than enough food, you'll stay." She responded and walked down the hallway without another world.

Demyx now knew where Zexion got his pushiness from, adopted or not, he was clearly influenced by his mother. Or, the woman Demyx assumed was his mother. "Hi Riku." Demyx waved at the tired looking boy. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"You didn't, don't worry." Riku grabbed Demyx's guitar and held the door open for him. "I'll show you to the den, also known as the music room, and send Zexion that way." Riku spoke as he lead Demyx down the same hall the woman had gone down. "By the way, that was my mom. Just call her Mom, she won't respond to anything else."

"She seems kind." Demyx followed his best friend's ex, fresh thoughts of their earlier conversation still pounding beneath his skull. Riku continued to talk, saying something in agreement to Demyx's statement, but the blond was too angry at him to listen, and nodded along as he drowned him out instead. He glanced at the walls in the house, noting the variety, and great number of portraits. There were several baby pictures of the five white blond boys. They looked like a happy family.

Demyx found himself stopping at a picture of a tall man, with white blond hair. His arm was wrapped around the woman Demyx now knew was the mother. Then gathered in front of the happy parents, five boys, all under the age of ten, were sitting next to five pumpkins, and several rabbits. The youngest boy, only a baby, was sitting in the woman's lap, reaching for a bunny instead of paying attention to the camera man. The eldest, whom Demyx didn't recognize, was pulling one of the younger boy's hair, and the other two were giving the camera their biggest smiles.

It was a cute picture. It was a happy picture. It was the perfect family. But there was no Zexion. Zexion wasn't a part of this family when the picture was taken. Demyx idly wondered where Zexion was that day. "Demyx?" Riku, who had disappeared down the hallway, suddenly returned. "You like the pictures?"

"I always wanted siblings." Demyx remarked quietly. "Which one are you?" The blonde musician pointed to the picture he had been staring at.

"The baby. I'm the youngest. And this is Sephiroth." Riku pointed to the eldest boy, pulling the hair of one of his brothers.

Demyx nodded to Riku and continued to look down the line of portraits. The boys each got older as the pictures progressed. Then suddenly, Sephiroth stopped showing up in the pictures and Demyx frowned. He wasn't old enough to be out of the house and on his own, so why wasn't he in the pictures? The blond continued down the hall and though Sephiroth didn't return to the portraits, Zexion did suddenly appear.

The musician paused at the first image he saw of Zexion with the family. They were in front of the house, the parents in the back, while the children were arranged by height in the front. This left Zexion, the shortest, directly in front. Their mother's hand was resting lightly on Zexion's shoulder, while she smiled at the camera. And their father, rather than looking at the camera, had his head tilted slightly down as he smiled at the new addition to the family. Zexion however, he didn't look happy. He had a fake smile on his face, true. But Demyx could tell it wasn't legitimate. He was pretty sure anyone would see that. His eyes were sad, his hair was dirty, and his clothes looked old, and hung much too loose on him.

"Riku?" Demyx asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"What happened to Sephiroth?"

"Oh…eh, well, he got sent to military school. We're still in touch with him, don't worry. He's got more pictures around here too. My mom always hung his school pictures up. He never moved back in after he graduated though. He went into the military." Riku explained, almost like it was something he was uncomfortable talking about, but also like he was proud of what his brother had accomplished, even if it didn't begin in the best of ways.

"Is this the day you guys adopted Zexion?"

"No."

Demyx frowned and spun to look at Riku questioningly.

"Mom decided since Sephiroth's room was empty, she would foster a child. We'd get money to help pay for Seph's school, and my mom would have another child to dote on. She fell in love with Zexion. This is the day we officially fostered him." Riku smiled a little. "And the first day my brothers and I got to meet him. We didn't get along at all."

"But that changed?"

"Oh yeah. It changed quickly actually. Zexion fit right into our family. It's like he was always meant to be here. He was just born in the wrong home. It took ten years to get him in the right home."

Demyx frowned looking at the image of the ten year old Zexion again. "What was his first home like?"

"That's for Zexion to share." Riku responded. "Come on, let's go to the den and I'll get Zexion down here. I have someone waiting for me in my room."


	9. Zexion I

.:: Just Need A Sign ::.

"**Zexion I"**

After Riku left Demyx to wake Zexion up, the blond took the opportunity to study the den. They lovingly referred to it as "The Music Room" and it was apparent to Demyx why that was. Almost every corner, every surface, every nook and cranny was covered with some sort of musical instrument or paraphernalia. Even the walls had instruments hanging on them, like you would see in a music shop. And the center of the room was occupied by a large grand piano. There wasn't a TV in sight; rather they had an impressive stereo system, amps, speakers, and a stage. It was only about a five inch step, but it was definitely a stage and Demyx assumed that they used it to practice. Behind the stage there was a painted mural of several guitar picks with each family member's name on it.

Taking a careful look around, Demyx stepped over to the wall that held the most instruments on it, and ran his fingers gently over a shiny black electric violin. It was Zexion's violin. He didn't need to ask, he just knew it was his. He could feel it. Zexion's fingers held that violin during his shows. And next to the electric violins were the traditional violins, in rich browns, oranges and reds. Above the violins were guitars of every color size and shape. It was a dream come true, for Demyx.

He would love to live in a home that expressed such love for music as this home. After studying the wall Demyx walked over to the piano, pulled the bench out and sat down before lifting the lid. Then his eyes caught sight of music paper. It was hand written so Demyx thought it might be something Zexion was working on. It made him uncomfortable to see it. He felt like he was reading a diary written strictly in music notes and he quickly turned his head away.

But there's something that always makes a person look at something they shouldn't see. Knowing that he shouldn't look at something so personal made him really want to look at it. Before long he turned his head back towards the music sheets and leaned in close to study it. Upon studying it, he found it to be a very sad song. All of The Bleeding Heartless' songs were sad or angry; they certainly weren't the most upbeat songs imaginable. But this one had some sort of immense truth to it. It was as though each note was a little more of the writer's story, and each one gave away more secrets. It was as though the writer were naked before Demyx's eyes, and he felt very invasive for reading it.

"Like what you see?" Zexion's voice suddenly came from the doorway and Demyx whipped his head around to see him. He was wearing a loose pair of dark blue, silk pajama pants. They were hanging lazily off his hips as he leaned against the door frame with his cotton t-shirt covering his crossed arms. A sleepy, sexy, amused look crossed Zexion's face as he studied the blond. When Demyx failed to respond Zexion dropped his arms to his side and walked over to him, sitting down on the bench next to him. "This is my personal work. You could call it my solo project. It's just for me."

"I didn't mean to peek at it. It was just there and I couldn't help myself." Demyx quickly apologized for overstepping his rights as a guest in Zexion's home.

The singer made a nonchalant hand gesture and shook his head dismissively, "Don't worry about it Dem. But really, what do you think of it? Since you looked at it, you're required to tell me."

"It's really passionate." The blond confessed immediately. "There's no words to it, that I could see anyway, and I still felt so much emotion, simply through the notes you chose. Is there words?"

"Yeah, somewhere."

"Can I see them?"

"No."

"Can I hear them?"

"No."

"Why?"

"It's personal."

"All of your music is."

"This is different. You've basically seen me naked, just by looking at these notes Demyx. If I let you see the words it'd be like you watching me masturbate. Do you want to see me masturbate Demyx?" Zexion asked with a completely sincere tone and straight face.

"Well, when you put it that way." The blond teased, hating the way his cheeks heated up at his own words. But the singer simply laughed, and placed his fingers on the keys of the piano, lightly playing a random tune as he shook his head and looked at Demyx again.

"Do you remember why I invited you over?" Zexion asked.

Demyx watched Zexion's fingers on the piano and nodded before speaking, "Yeah, you want to hear my music."

"Well?" Zexion encouraged Demyx and gave him one of his signature, sly, grins.

_to be continued…_


	10. Zexion II

.:: Just Need A Sign ::.

"**Zexion II"**

This was it. Demyx didn't know why he was so nervous, but the thought of Zexion listening to him play is music sent all sorts of tickling shivers down his spine, through each of his limbs, and down to the very tip of each finger and toe. It wouldn't be the first time Demyx played his music for someone. In high school he always shared his latest songs with his teacher. He even let his parents hear his songs, even though they thought he should do something better with his life. But the longer he contemplated why the singer made him so nervous, the slower Demyx appeared to be, as he was just staring at Zexion.

And yet the slate haired musician simply kept that sly grin on his face, watching Demyx as a million thoughts went through his head. The blond didn't know how long it had been since Zexion asked to hear his music, but he was pretty sure they had been sitting in awkward silence for nearly a minute now. "Oh um, y-yes, I brought my guitar, and my sitar. Is there one you want to hear first? Or d-do, wha- I…"

"Dem," Zexion stated calmly as he placed a hand on Demyx's shoulder. "Relax. I'm not some evil critic, with a life goal that thrives on judgmental opinions. We're friends, sharing a bit of music together. I'm in my pj's for Christ's sake, relax. You need some whiskey or something?"

"I don't drink, I told you that." Demyx relaxed a little with Zexion's hand on his shoulder. He could smell the other man quite clearly from this distance. He had expected something different, something better, but that's not to say he was disappointed. He knew Zexion's lifestyle, so he shouldn't have been surprised to smell the remnants of smoke and alcohol.

"And I told you not to be ridicule-arse. Let's get you some chill-out-fuel." Zexion removed his hand from Demyx's shoulder and leaned against the piano to watch him.

"N-no, it's okay. I'm calm…let me, let me grab my sitar. It's my favorite." The blond stood up and walked over to his sitar case, carefully taking it out, making himself comfortable sitting on the floor, rather than getting up to be by Zexion again. He just knew he'd manage to mess it up if he were near the other man.

The singer simply spun around on the piano bench to watch Demyx as he fumbled around with his sitar case. But once that case was open, a whole new confidence washed over Demyx, and Zexion found it hard to suppress a smile. "Not gonna come back over here?"

"No no, I like this spot, this is good." Demyx spoke to his sitar neck as he tuned it just right for the song he planned on sharing with Zexion. He let his fingers and ears work quickly at the task, not wanting to give Zexion a chance to relocate somewhere closer. And as soon as he finished tuning, he started playing. And once he started playing no one else was in the room. It was just him and his sitar.

ooo

Zexion watched Demyx tune his sitar, he thought about moving closer, but with Demyx feeling as uncomfortable as he was, he felt it best to give him his space so he could hear the best the blond had to offer. And from the moment Demyx hit the first note, Zexion knew he wasn't full of shit. The boy could play.

There was something incredibly delicate about the way Demyx started his first notes. His fingers lightly grazing with each stroke of his hand, and the way he pulled the string down, letting it up lightly to get that drawn out, beautiful tone, was just like Zexion's first impression of the blond. He was a delicate little flower, yet to be trampled on by the feet of much larger beings.

But soon the gentle caress of Demy'x fingers on his sitar neck, like the gentle caress of a touch to a lover's body, turned into a passionate stroking, that built up speed as the song became more furious. The blonde's fingers moved across the sitar so quickly Zexion could scarcely see them. Passions stirred within the singer, from his chest, to lower regions, that he didn't want to think about. There was something unforgettable about Demyx. He wasn't just a mediocre musician, trying to make it big. No, Demyx was a star yet to be discovered.

When Zexion saw the blond with his sitar, it was as if they were one. It was like two halves of one whole, two partners passionately embraced, at the edge of their climax, attached together in a way that gets them as close together as two humans can ever be. Demyx was a musician. Zexion knew he couldn't waste his time on whatever schooling his parents thought was best. In Zexion's mind, Demyx should only be working on music.

ooo

When Demyx finished his song, he took a moment, to bask in the pleasure of having touched his fingers to his instrument once again. There was nothing quite like playing music. Every time he played, he knew more and more that music was the only thing he wanted. But his parents always stood in the way.

As the negative thoughts of his parents began to flood his mind, drowning out the blissful feeling from moments ago, Demyx opened his eyes to look at Zexion. The singer was staring at him. His eyes seemed a little clouded over, and he didn't make any attempt to move. He just stared. Immediately thoughts raced through Demyx's head. How bad must he have been? Zexion, the guy who always seemed to have something to say, had nothing to say? Was he even breathing? Had he killed him with his horrible playing? Was that even possible?

"Zexion?" the blond questioned, setting his sitar back in its case.

"Demyx…are you aware of how brilliant you are?" The singer finally snapped out of his catatonic state.

"I'm s-…." Demyx started before Zexion's words registered, "What?"

_To be continued_

**AN: Busy with school, sorry. Two updates for you today. **


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